'Good Boys' scandal has only become more timely

The VCR-based technology of "Good Boys and True" may be long gone, but the core issues in Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa's drama at the Raven Theatre about a high schooler's sex tape feel more pressing than ever.

Aguirre-Sacasa (a writer-producer on "Glee") based the play loosely on his own high school years in the 1980s, but it is impossible to watch the story unfold and not think of all the ways social media in the 21st century has made these types of scandals even worse for the kids involved. It's unnerving — in all the right ways. Jeffrey D. Kmiec's canny set design places the audience on either side of an empty space that's flanked by metal lockers; the stage itself is little more than an elevated platform, but it might as well be a boxing ring.

I've seen the play three times since it debuted at the Steppenwolf in 2007, and each time I've liked it better. The setting is an upscale prep school where the children of 1-percenters stride through life in their crested blazers and khakis, dodging consequences and maintaining legacies.

One such future captain of industry, a popular, good-looking kid named Brandon, finds himself in hot water after a sex tape is found featuring a girl from a nearby public school (unaware she's being taped) and a boy that might be Brandon. No one is sure. At first, his mother can't even wrap her head around the idea that her "Sunny D-guzzling, Izod shirt-wearing son is having sex," let alone might be the one doing it on that tape.

So what happened and why? Aguirre-Sacasa is after something biting — about class and privilege; sexual identity and teenage insecurity — and actor Will Kiley finds just the right mix of tones for Brandon. The guy is charming and infuriating; poised and wildly self-justifying. It's a terrific performance, as is that of Sophia Menendian (daughter of Raven's co-artistic directors) who is sharp and empathetic as the girl from the mall he seduced under false pretenses.

If there is one niggling aspect in director Cody Estle's production that doesn't fully ring true, it's the portrayal of this bubble of wealth and entitlement — "Dawn of the Dead" meets "A Separate Peace," as one character puts it. (In fairness, neither of the previous productions I've seen have captured this accurately either.) Brandon and his ilk are the result of a long history of privilege. That needs to inform the performances more than it does here, especially that of his mom (played with moving sincerity by Maggie Cain). It's a world that should exist somewhere between Cate Blanchett in "Blue Jasmine" and the middle class affect we see here.

Through May 3 at the Raven Theatre, 6157 N. Clark St.; tickets are $36 at 773-338-2177 or raventheatre.com.

"The Roper"

Chicago, 1876: A group of lowlife Chicago counterfeiters hatch a plan to kidnap Abraham Lincoln's corpse from its tomb and hold it for $200,000 cash ransom.

Though it sounds like an urban legend, the tale is as true as they come and forms the basis of Will Dunne's intriguing but strangely tepid drama receiving its world premiere at the Den Theatre under the direction of Ron Wells.

Dunne has unearthed one of those great, untold historical footnotes that is, at its core, a great heist story. This kind of thing tends to work best when its light on its feet, with snap and rhythm, particularly when the endeavor itself is such a comedy of errors.

The play, though, is reluctant to take much pleasure in the run-up. It's a very sober approach, as if Dunne had concerns about glorifying these would-be grave robbers. But lacking charisma, this motley crew of miscreants don't really capture the imagination. (Although I liked the minor humor achieved by Michael Thomas Downey's glower alone.)

Of course, the plan to steal Lincoln's body was doomed from the start. Law enforcement had an inside man — a roper, in the parlance, played here with a palpably conflicted sense of duty by Tony Bozzuto — who stumbles into this cockamamie scheme while trying to nab a few counterfeiters.

"There's nothing more dangerous than stupid men who think they have a good idea," goes one of the play's better lines. But just as often, there's nothing more entertaining either. A bit more in that direction, and "The Roper" might be headed somewhere.

Through April 13 at The Den Theatre, 1333 N. Milwaukee Ave.; tickets are $25 at thedentheatre.com.